Incinerator



flee 17, 1935. A. F. MARTEL. fiz fi A INCINERATOR Filed Dec. 13, 1933 5Sheets-Sheet l FEGQI.

INVENTOR:

ADELARD F. MART-EL.

ATTORNEY A, F. MARTEL 2,624,652

INCINERATOR Filed Dec. 13, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: ADE LARD F.MARTEL ATTORNEY.

Q86. 1?, 1 935. A, F MARTEL Z24552 INCINERATOR Filed Dec. 13, 1953 3Sheets-Sheet 5 FIGB.

INVENTOR: ADE LARD F. MARTEL.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE one-half to George W.Gates,

Calif.

Burlingame,

Application December 13, 1933, Serial No. 702,139

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in incinerators and moreparticularly to the method. and apparatus for garbage disposal byburning.

Among the objects of the invention is the complete reduction to ashes ofgarbage having a high moisture content.

Another object is to consume the smoke and noxious gases produced byincineration.

Another object is to utilize the waste heat incidental to the processfor generating steam.

Another object is to apply the necessary heat for desiccating andigniting the garbage with the minimum wear and tear on the apparatus.

Another object is to progressively incinerate a relatively thin layer ofgarbage.

A further object is to minimize the labor required to operate theincinerator.

Other objects and advantages appear as the description progresses.

In this specification and the accompanying drawings, the invention isdisclosed in its preferred form. It is, however, to be understood thatthe invention is not limited to this form T because it may be embodiedin other forms without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined in the claim following the description.

In the accompanying three sheets of drawings:

Figs. 1 and 2, to be read in conjunction with each other, illustrate avertical section of a garbage incinerator constructed in accordance withthe present invention.

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the same taken on the lineIII-III in Fig. 2.

In detail, the construction illustrated in the drawings comprises thefoundation 5 having pillars such as 2, 3, 4, and 5 mounted thereon andsuitably cross braced. The rails 6l5 (see also Fig. 3) are fixed on tiessuch as l which extend transversely between the several pillars and aresecured thereto by the bracketsB.

The carriage A has the flanged wheels 9-9, 10, II, and 12 which engagethe rails 6-6. The carriage consists of the longitudinal sills |3-|3 andl4-l4 joined together by the uprights l5l5 and otherwise rendered rigidby bracing as at it and H. The rails fi extend longitudinally at it topermit the carriage A to be withdrawn from its operative position in theincinerator.

A pair of interspaced sprockets 19-49 and 20-40 are fixed on each of theshafts 2i and 22 suitably mounted at the ends of the movable carriage A.The endless travelling grate B consists of a series of channel members23 hinged together at it. The flanged rollers 25-25 are mounted onopposite sides of the grate on the pintles of the hinges 2t. 5

The grate B encircles the sprockets 3-49 and 2l]23, the rollers 25-25engaging in openings provided therefor in the sprockets. The rails 26-2tand 2l-2l are fixed on the brackets 28 extending from the sills l3 andM. The 10 rollers 25-25 rest on these rails 26 and 21 to support thetravelling grate intermediate the sprockets i9 and 28.

The operators. platform 29 is mounted on an extension or the frame ofthe movable carriage 15 A. The plate Ell shields the sprockets 19-49 andthe grate B thereon at this platform. The motor M is mounted on theplatform 29 and actuates the travelling grate B through the pulley andbelt drive 32, 33, and 3%. The speed of 20 the travelling grate can beregulated to meet the varying conditions or" the incoming material to beincinerated by the conventional controller rheostat 35 which controlsthe current supplied to the motor ill. 25

The garbage is dumped into the incinerator through the vertical chute355 which discharges on the end of the travelling grate B. The dumptruck 31 on the rails 38 conveys the material to the upper end of thechute 36. The inclined 3O baiiles 5%, it, and ii are provided in thechute 36 to break up, and spread the descending material.

The gate 32 is pivoted at '33 at the lowerend of the chute. The cableid, wound on the manually operated spool Q5, is arranged to open orclose the gate G2 to regulate the rate of feed onto the grate B. Thepivoted gate it prevents backward flow of the incoming material over theend of the grate B.

The specific form of feeding means shown and described is merelyincidental to the successful operation of the present invention.

The entrance to the furnace chamber is closed by the fire brick lineddoor ll which is pivoted at 58 and counterweighted at 2%. The door 41 5impinges on the top of the incoming garbage and further serves to levelthe material to a substantially uniform thickness on the grate B. Theflue 59 is arranged to carry off the products of combustion should anyinflammable material in the garbage become ignited before it arrives inthe furnace chamber.

The furnace chamber consists of the vertical fire brick walls 5% and 52which extend along side the upper portion of the travelling grate B 55and are supported on the pillars 3, 4, and by the brackets 53. The firebrick arch 54 extends between the walls 5i and 52 over the grate B toform the top of the front portion of the furnace 5 chamber.

The tubular boiler 55 is mounted above the rear portion of the furnacechamber and has the arms and 57 which are supported on the beams 58 and59 connecting the pillars 4 and 5.

1o The boiler is enclosed by the brick dome 60 which extends upward fromthe Walls 5| and 52. The rear wall 6i of the furnace chamber is spacedfrom the end of the boiler 55 to form the combustion chamber 52. The fanblower 63 is arranged to direct a draft of atmospheric air into thechamber 62 as required.

The conventional oil or gas burners 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, and 65 aremounted at intervals in the wall 52 and have nozzles dischargingtransversely into the interior of the furnace chamber. The observationwindow 16 provided in the rear wall (ii of the furnace chamber permitsinspection of the burners during their operation.

The smoke stack it rises from the end of the boiler 55 and is providedwith the smoke filter screen H at its top. The door 72 at the base ofthe smoke stack H permits access to the horizontal fire tubes of theboiler. The baille plates 13 are provided in the stack H to impede theprogress of the draft therethrough for purposes later described. Thedraft can be varied to meet conditions by the damper 14 pivoted in theupper portion of the stack H.

The sprockets 2626 are enclosed by the plate 15 extending down into thechute 16 discharging into the ash car 1'! on the rails 18. The hopper 79is rotatably mounted in the chute 16 on the shaft 80. The radialpartitions 8| divide the hopper 19 into a series of compartments andserve to close the chute 16. The weight of the ashes discharged from thetraveling grate B onto one of the partitions 8| rotates the hopper anddumps the accumulated ashes into the car 11. The operation of the hopper19 serves to properly distribute the ashes in the car.

The frictional brake 62 is provided on one side of the hopper is and isoperated by the cable 83, the other end of which is connected to thecontrol lever 85 (see Fig. 1) within reach of the .34) operator on theplatform 29. The application of the brake 82 prevents the ashes frompassing through the hopper '19, thus permitting the car 11 to besubstituted Without suspending the operation of the incinerator.

The invention operates substantially as follows: The garbage to bedisposed of conveyed by the truck 3'! is dumped into the chute 36. Thebaffle plates 39, 46 and 4! in the chute break the fall of thedescending garbage and distribute it laterally in the chute. The garbagedrops from the lower end of the chute onto the traveling grate B whichis continuously driven by the motor 3|.

The lateral distribution of the garbage by the baffles 36, .6, and 4!insures the garbage being uniformly deposited the full width of thegrate B (see dotted line, Fig. 3). This prevents exposure of the metalgrate to the flames within the furnace chamber and materially lengthens70 its life.

The thickness of the layer of garbage deposited on the grate B isregulated by the gate 42 which is manually controlled by the cable 44.The operator constantly observes at the opening 36' the 7 5 nature ofthe garbage passing through the chute 36 and regulates its flow onto thegrate B in ac cordance with the moisture content thereof. Relatively wetgarbage will be deposited on the grate B in a thinner layer than driermaterial. The rheostat 35 can be also operated to decel- 5 erate themotor 3| to retard the speed of the grate B for prolonged runs of wetmaterial. The truck 31 is frequently loaded and dumped to maintain acontinuous flow of material through the chute 36. 10

The garbage on the grate B travels in the direction indicated by thearrow in Fig. 1. Fumes and smoke resulting from pro-ignition are carriedofi by the flue 50. The garbage passes under the door 41 into thefurnace chamber. 15 The door spreads the garbage in a substantiallyuniform layer on the grate B.

The present process consists in moving the layer of garbage into areasof progressively increasing temperatures until incineration takes place20 and the material is finally reduced to ashes.

The first three burners 64, 65, and 66 create a temperature of about1500 F. beneath the arch 54. The garbage as it slowly passestherebeneath is gradually heated and its moisture driven 25, off untilit becomes thoroughly desiccatedl. Even highly aqueous material, such aswatermelon, etc., are completely desiccated when spread in a thin layeron the grate B and subjected to the heat of the burners 64, 65, and 66.30;

The desiccated garbage then. passes under the final burners 67, 68, and69 andis heateduntil the ignition temperatures of the various substancestherein are reached. The burners maintain the material at burningtemperatures until 35.

it is completely reduced to fine ash.

When the grate 3 passes around the sprockets 26-20 the ash thereon dropsinto the rotatable hopper 19 in the chute 16. Accumulations of ash inthe hopper are dumped into the. car; 11. 402.

The ash resulting from the present process is completely innocuous,odorless and amounts to but a small fraction of the volume of thegarbage disposed of. It may be utilized for land reclamation,fertilizer, and other uses. 45;

The air to support combustion enters the fur,- nace chamber through thespace between the flanges of the channels 23 and the adjacent walls 5|and 52. The updraft of cold air protects the traveling grate B fromexcessive tem- 501 perature. The products of combustion and the watervapor given off by the garbage during desiccation flow through thefurnace chamber into the combustion chamber 62.

The carbon constituents of the products of 56 combustion are fullyconsumed within the combustion chamber 62 thus preventing the formationof smoke. The burning of some materials, however, unavoidably producesdense smoke. In

this instance, the blower fan 63 can be operated 60 to force airdownward into the combustion chamber 62. This addition of air causes theflame in the-combustion chamber to oxidize and dissipate the carbonparticles in the smoke.

The boiler 55 is heated by the products of 65 combustion passing throughits fire tubes from the combustion chamber to the stack H. The boileralso receives the excess heat from the burners 61, 68, and 69therebeneath as well as the heat generated by the burning of the desic-70 cated garbage. The power generated at 55 will practically offset thecost of the fuel consumed by the burners 64 to 69.

The bafiles 13 in the stack H retard the escaping products ofcombustion. This produces a very slow draft in the furnace andcombustion chambers thus promoting the efliciency of incineration. Italso minimizes the production of smoke. The draft can be increased orretarded in accordance with conditions by the damper 14. The filterscreen 1 I prevents the escape of flakes of ash which may be carried upthe stack by the draft.

The present process is characterized by the gradual and continuousheating of a graduated mass of garbage to controlled incinerationavoiding sudden temperature changes. The grate B in passinginoperatively along the rails 21-21 is exposed to the up draftatmosphere and becomes relatively cooled before garbage from the chute36 is deposited thereon. This is a considerable factor in the preventionof malodorous gases.

The carriage A may be withdrawn from the furnace chamber along theextension 18 of the rails 6. This permits easy access to the grate B andits supporting structure for cleaning and repairs. It also enables theentry of workmen into the interior of the furnace chamber for repairs tothe brick Work.

Having thus described this invention, What is claimed and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is:

An incinerator comprising a furnace chamber having side Walls and a topand open at the bottom thereof; a pair of sprockets at opposite ends ofsaid chamber; a travelling grate encircling said sprockets; motive meansfor driving said travelling grate; a feed chute above one end of saidgrate; baffles in said chute adapted to break up the descendingmaterial; a manually operable gate at the bottom of said chute forregulating the feed of said material; a door closing the entrance intosaid chamber but arranged to permit the ingress of said material; a flueinterposed between said feed chute and said door and adapted to carryoff the gases generated by said material outside said door; a boiler insaid chamber above said grate; a series of burners in said chamber injuxtaposition to said bo-iler; some of said burners being arranged sothat their flames impinge upon said boiler; a stack communicating withsaid furnace chamber through said boiler; an ash chute leading from thedischarge end of said travelling grate; a rotary hopper closing saidchute; and means for stopping the rotation of said hopper.

ADELARD F. MARTEL.

